Rugby league concussion study a ‘wake-up call’ for Australian sport
The discovery of two cases of head injury related brain disease in two former rugby league players should be seen as an immediate warning to Australia’s elite athletes, according to the professor who diagnosed the trauma.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The professor who diagnosed rugby league’s first two known cases of a brain disease linked with repetitive head trauma in the NFL has described the findings as a wake-up call for Australian Sport.
Clinical Associate Professor Michael Buckland, Head of the RPA Neuropathology Department and Head of the Molecular Neuropathology Program at the Brain and Mind Centre, said the groundbreaking findings should force a review of how the NRL and other major football codes police concussion.
Evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, were found in the two brains of deceased NRL players, both of whom played over 150 NRL games.
The findings were published on Thursday in the international neuropathology journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications.
“I’ve been aware that there has some good concussion protocols over the last 10 or so years in the major sporting codes,’’ Professor Buckland told The Daily Telegraph.
“The codes are responding, but are they doing enough? I don’t know.
“I think it’s important to know that (CTE) is in no way inevitable that just because you play football, you’re going to have CTE.
“It’s a wake-up call.
“It’s easy to think of CTE as a concept that effects professional athletes in other countries, but I think this really brings it home that Australian professional sports are not immune to this disease.
“We really need to talk more about it and hopefully this will stimulate a lot of conversation and also a lot of reflection on the sporting codes that they’re confident that they’ve got best management procedures.’’
The identity of both players is unknown. The journal claims that they are the two first reported cases of CTE in rugby league in the world and only the second and third cases of CTE ever reported in Australian sport.
The journal states that Case 1 had a successful career after retirement, and had been working up until his death. He did not abuse alcohol, or other drugs.
Family members reported increasing reliance on aide-memoires for daily activities in the years prior to his death, and recent difficulties remembering details of a significant life event.
Case Two had some issues during his transition to a post-playing career, but was productively employed until his death.
“The changes in the two brains were distinctive, definitive, and met consensus diagnostic criteria for CTE,” Professor Buckland said.
“I have looked at about 1000 brains over the last 10 years, and I have not seen this sort of pathology in any other case before.
“The fact that we have now seen these changes in former rugby league players indicates that they, and likely other Australian collision sports players, are not immune to CTE, a disease that has gained such high profile in the United States.”
CTE was first discovered in the US by Doctor Bennet Omalu during an autopsy of former Pittsburgh Steelers centre, Mike Webster in 2002.
LISTEN! In a special one-on-one interview Matty sits down with Sam Burgess to talk through the highs and lows of his career, his desire to play at Manly and his venture into rugby union.
The diagnosis — and the strong denials from the NFL that the disease was connected to the sport — were chronicled in the 2015 movie Concussion.
As of last month, the NFL’s concussion fund had paid out nearly $500 million in its first two years,
Retired players can seek awards of as much as $3 million for moderate dementia and $1.5 million for mild dementia.
Having implement strict return to play head injury assessment (HIA) protocols, on ground and in-bunker concussion spotters in 2019, the NRL said there management of head injuries is based on global best-practice — but would review their protocols as a result of the findings.
“The NRL has significantly increased its focus and investment in this area of player safety and will continue as an active participant in the work of the global sport community to advance the understanding and management of head injuries in contact sport,’’ an NRL spokesman said.
The Players Union said they weren’t in a position to respond to the findings until they had reviewed the study.
“The RLPA has worked with the NRL to help drive further investment into the management of concussion and research into the long-term impacts of concussion,’’ an RLPA spokesman said.
“The more reliable information that we can provide our members about this complex issue the better.
“What we can say, is that the game treats concussion very seriously and leads the way regarding a range of initiatives that have been introduced in recent years.
“This is something that we have worked closely with the NRL on to help evolve the education, assessment, management and research around concussion.
“The RLPA will continue to be guided on this issue by the determinations made by the ACC (Australia Concussion Consortium) and research being undertaken with the NRL.’’
‘The Panthers era is over’: Three reasons there’ll be no ‘five in 2025’
At the risk of being made look foolish again, DEAN RITCHIE claims 2025 will mark the end of the Penrith Panthers dynasty, with the tyranny of travel and lack of home ground just the start of the issues that club must conquer.
V’landys rejects Western Bears’ bid in NRL expansion bombshell
In a massive blow for Perth and a stunning development in the battle for the 18th NRL licence, the Western Bears have had their bid to join the league rejected by Peter V’landys and the ARL Commission.